Please feel free to browse this website as a guest. Creating an account removes some ads, allows you to post replies, start new topics and threads, and gives you access to more features including bookmarking, live chat, messaging and notification systems.

Staff MemberModerator

In the 1930's, the management at many collieries decided that facilties were needed for the miners who worked at their collieries. Many miners did not have hot running water, and were confined to washing the thick black filth off themselves in tin baths.

The bath houses were paid for by the miners themselves, giving a percentage of their weekley wage to cover the cost. Most of these buildings were art deco in style, and consisted of a canteen faciltiy, showers and lockers. Each man had a clean and dirty locker. He stripped off on the dirty side, showered and emerged at the clean side to dress for hometime. The bath houses allowed the miners to socialise straight from work, and was a great step forward.

The showers were distinctive, with glazed brick partitions topped with enamal hooks for one's towel. In later years many bath houses were equipped with a gym, and some could even boast a sauna! The lockers were fitted with vents, and warm air was blown through the dirty side lockers to dry the miners kit for the following shift. Most had revolving boot brushes and greasing urns too, to keep their PPE in top condition.

In 2007 I devoted much of my spare time to finding and photographing what little remained of the coal industry of Britain. Sadly very few of these fabulous little buildings remain. Annesley's bath house was lovely. Triangular in shape, with a "bullnose" front, very much in the deco style. It also boasted a clock on it's water tower.

The whole colliery was listed after it closed, but a lattice work headgear, blacksmith's shop and lamp room fell victim to illiegal demolition. Nobody was ever prosecuted for this. Ever since the remaining headstock, baths and a battered electricians workshop have sat derelict and wide open to theft and vandalism. Despite this, Annesley's bath house, built with bricks from the very colliery it served, remained one of the best derelict baths in the country

After demolition looked imminant, I attempted to raise awareness about this building. I contacted the local press, in the form of the dire Mansfield "Chad", attempted to raise awareness of various petitions, objections. I clad the clock tower with a banner once. All of which fell on deaf ears.

All was in vein... RIP the last bathhouse in Nottinghamshire...

The most irritating part is they plan to build a heritage centre on the site to educate about the colliery:crazy